SES Reach Grows to 355 Million Homes Worldwide

SES strengthens its position as the world’s leading video distributor via satellite as the number of TV households it serves increased by more than 4 million to over 355 million in 2018.

The results from the SES’s annual market research highlighted further growth in SES’s technical reach and underlined the important role of satellite in delivering video to large audiences directly and indirectly in a reliable and cost-effective manner.

The results showed an increase in SES’s technical reach in Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Africa. In Africa, this included the addition of Kenya to the survey where more than 2 million TV homes across the country rely on SES for their TV content. In Europe, satellite broadcasting, and especially Direct-to-Home (DTH), remains the leading distribution technology, with SES serving 167 million TV homes across the continent. The SES fleet is also delivering video content to 72 million households across North America, mainly via the important U.S. cable neighbourhoods. Across other markets, SES continues to expand its technical reach, now serving 37 million TV homes in Asia-Pacific, 33 million in Latin America, 33 million in Africa, and 13 million TV homes in the Middle East.

The results underscore the essential value proposition of satellite broadcasting as a highly attractive platform for reliable and cost-effective video delivery to large audiences. These qualities make it ideal for distributing HD and UHD programming, and SES is today delivering nearly 2,800 HD TV channels and over 40 commercial UHD TV channels – more than any other satellite service provider.

About Georgia

The Satellite Monitor Study YE2018 results show that satellite is maintaining its lead in the Georgian TV market, reaching 38% of TV homes directly, which is over 410 000 DTH homes. This compares with 11%, 14% and 37% for terrestrial, cable and IPTV reception modes respectively. SES serves two-thirds of Georgian TV homes, counting 670,000 in 2018 compared to 560,000 in 2017. The results of the study also indicate that in Georgia standard definition screens are a minority and there is a growing uptake of HD and Ultra HD, as 44.4% of homes own HD and 15.3% UHD TV screens in YE2018, which compares to 40.5% and 10.6% in YE2017.

About the Satellite Monitor

2018 was the 25th year that SES has conducted the Satellite Monitor survey. The detailed data it delivers about the reach of SES and video viewing trends has proven to be a valuable tool for SES’s customers, supporting SES’s position as a trusted partner to the world’s leading broadcasters and content owners. Georgia was included into the Satellite Monitor survey 4 years ago and now the comparative data shows the main viewing trends of the Georgian population since 2015.

“At SES, we invest in tools and services to help our customers gather information about markets they operate in so that they can be even more successful in their business. The Satellite Monitor is one such tool that demonstrates the long-term value of SES’s core video neighbourhoods and extensive reach to our customers,” said Håkan Sjödin, Vice President of Sales for Nordic, Baltic and Eastern Europe. “Regardless of the shift in consumption habits, it is clear that our business remains an essential tool in delivering a high-quality viewing experience to the world’s leading broadcasters and content owners. In Georgia the uptake in purchases of HD and Ultra HD TV sets shows us that it is set-up to develop even further.”

SES is the world’s leading satellite operator with over 70 satellites in two different orbits, Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). It provides a diverse range of customers with global video distribution and data connectivity services through two business units: SES Video and SES Networks. SES Video reaches over 355 million TV homes, through Direct-to-Home (DTH) platforms and cable, terrestrial, and IPTV networks globally. The SES Video portfolio includes MX1, a leading media service provider offering a full suite of innovative services for both linear and digital distribution, and the ASTRA satellite system, which has the largest DTH television reach in Europe. SES Networks provides global managed data services, connecting people in a variety of sectors including telecommunications, maritime, aeronautical, and energy, as well as governments and institutions across the world. The SES Networks portfolio includes GovSat, a 50/50 public-private partnership between SES and the Luxembourg government, and O3b, the only non-geostationary system delivering fiber-like broadband services today.